In light of reports of recently-released strategy game Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin under-performing for publisher Frontier Developments, the company has revealed that it plans on refocusing its development and publishing efforts on what it refers to as creative management simulation (CMS) games.
“Frontier’s move to diversify its game portfolio during the last five years, including through third-party publishing and new games in ‘adjacent genres’, has not delivered the anticipated success,” said the company in its business update. “As a result, the Company has refocused on CMS games which have delivered stronger and more predictable returns through Frontier’s expertise and leadership in that genre.”
For context, management-styled games like Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, Jurassic World Evolution, and Jurassic World Evolution 2 are what Frontier Developments considers falling under the CMS umbrella. According to the company’s development update, all four of these games were able to make a profit within a month of release, and over the next year, were able to make a 100 percent return on investment.
“All four games achieved profitability within one month of release and delivered over 100% return on investment within 12 months of release,” it said. “The three games which have been in the market for four years or longer – Planet Coaster, Jurassic World Evolution, and Planet Zoo – have all achieved a cumulative return on investment of over 250%.”
As part of its new focus on management-styled games, Frontier Developments has revealed that it plans on releasing three more games down the line over the next three financial years—one game for each financial year. Despite the performance of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, the company plans on further support the title, as well as other games like Elite: Dangerous and the F1 Manager franchise.
The low sales of Realms of Ruin have reduced the company’s expected revenue for the current financial year. However, the company has stated that it is looking to the next financial year in order to break even in revenue thanks to continued support of its preexisting games, as well as the release of the planned CMS title.
“The Board expects Frontier to at least break even in FY25 through the ongoing performance of the existing portfolio of games, revenue contributions from future releases including the CMS game scheduled for FY25, and the 20% operating cost reductions from the Organisational Review,” it said about its plans with future management games.
For more details on Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, check out our review. The game is out on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.